Pavement profiler machines use cutter drums to scarify, cut and profile concrete and asphalt pavements. The profiler machine includes a suitable machine chassis for mounting the drum and a motor to drive the drum above the surface to be profiled.
Cutting teeth are arranged on the drum in a spiral-like configuration to cut the pavement and to assist in picking up and transferring the cuttings to a conveyor. Holders are used to position the teeth and secure them to the drum. The holders are subjected to severe impact forces, and therefore are usually welded to flighting permanently secured to the drum.
The cutting teeth secured to the drum are subjected to high forces and friction, thereby requiring periodic replacement. The holders can also be subject to high friction and wear and require replacement, for example when a cutting tooth breaks off or becomes worn during drum operation. Because the holders need to be welded, unlike the teeth the holders cannot be made of a hardened material and therefore wear down quickly under such circumstances.
Known tooth holders are designed so that worn or broken teeth can readily be removed from the holder and replaced by new teeth. However, if the holder itself should become worn or damaged, replacement is more difficult and requires costly and time consuming welding in the field. Moreover, it is difficult to effect such welding precisely and accurately.
Several arrangements have been used for facilitating tooth holder replacement. Thus Dynapac's Pavement Profiler PL2000 uses a cutter drum having base segments bolted to the drum. Three tooth holders are welded to each segment. Tooth replacement is readily accomplished in the usual manner. Dynapac's bolted base segments provide advantages over tooth holders welded to flighting permanently secured to the drum. However, when replacement of a tooth holder is required, the entire base segment must be unbolted from the drum and the unit replaced.
Another manufacturer uses a cutter drum used for pavement profiling which incorporates a continuous flange on a drum, the flange incorporating pockets to receive a generally rectangular tooth holder bolted into the pocket. This construction fails to provide adequate support for the tooth holder, thus resulting in early wear and breakage of the block-like holders.
Still another manufacturer uses a cutter drum with flights carrying a number of welded-on tooth holders. Four bolts fasten the flights to mounting lugs welded to the drum.
Welding the tooth holders to the flights causes softening of the holder steel, thereby reducing wear resistance. Moreover, replacing broken tooth holders in the field by re-welding them to the flights involves special fixtures and requires time consuming welding work.